Novovoronezh II steam generators on track

The first of four steam generators for the second phase of the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant in Russia has been transported to the construction site by rail.

The first steam generator sets off on its journey to Novovoronezh (Image: Atomenergomash)

The manufacturer of the component, ZIO-Podolsk, said that it took two weeks to load the steam generator onto a special train for moving such large cargoes. The PGV-1000 steam generator - with a diameter of 4.5 metres and a height of 5.2 metres - weighs some 430 tonnes. According to the company, it is the first time that a component of such dimensions has been transported by rail in Russia and there is only one such transporter in the country capable of carrying loads weighing up to 500 tonnes. "This is an articulated-type transporter, equipped with a hydraulic lifting device and a system of tranverse shear," said Vladimir Pikhtin, head of contracts and sales at ZIO-Podolsk - a subsidiary of Atomenergomash.

The route that the transporter will take from the manufacturing plant near Moscow to the construction site some 500 km (310 miles) to the south has been determined taking into account the large size of the load.

ZIO-Podolsk said that production of all four steam generators was completed last year and they have been stored at its plant while a rail link to the Novovoronezh II construction site has been constructed. The shipment of the second steam generator to the plant is scheduled to take place before the end of March, with the other two to follow later.

According to ZIO-Podolsk, the PGV-1000 model steam generator is designed to be used with reactor systems with an output of up to 1200 MWe. Designed by OKB Gidropress, It also has a longer life compared with previous models - 60 years compared with 30 to 40 years.

Novovoronezh II is the lead project for the deployment of the AES-2006 reactor design incorporating a third-generation Russian-designed pressurized water reactor, an evolutionary development from the well-proven VVER-1000. Construction of Novovoronezh II units 1 and 2 began in June 2008 and July 2009, respectively, with start-up expected in 2012 and 2013. The original Novovoronezh site nearby already hosts three operating reactors and two that are being decommissioned.